Protein vulgaris chondroitinase II

ABSTRACT

Chondroitinase II, a protein having an isoelectric point of approximately 8.4-8.45 and an apparent molecular mass of 112 kDa when electrophoresed in a 4 to 20% gradient acrylamide gel in 25 mM Tris/192 mM glycine buffer at pH 8.5 in the presence of about 0.1% (w/v) SDS, has been isolated and purified. A process for the copurification by affinity chromatography of the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins produced by Proteus vulgaris is also provided. The proteins can be further purified by metal chelating chromatography. Therapeutic or surgical compositions of isolated chondroitinases I and II or the copurified mixture of chondroitinase I and II are also disclosed. These compositions are used in a method for selectively and completely disinserting the vitreous body from the neural retina of an eye.

This application is a continuation-in-part of:

(A) U.S. Ser. No. 08/231,534, filed Apr. 22, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,500; and

(B) U.S. Ser. No. 08/232,540, filed Apr. 22, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,536.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the identification, isolation, and purification of the enzyme chondroitinase II and to the copurification of the enzymes chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II. Compositions of the copurified enzyme mixture or a combination of the isolated individual enzymes are useful for selectively and completely disinserting the ocular vitreous body from the neural retina of the eye.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Chondroitinases are enzymes of bacterial origin that act on chondroitin sulfate, a component of the proteoglycans that mediate the attachment between the retina and the vitreous body of the human eye. Examples of chondroitinase enzymes are chondroitinase ABC which is produced by the bacterium Proteus vulgaris (P. vulgaris), and chondroitinase AC, which is produced by A. aurescens. Chondroitinase ABC is designated as chondroitinase I in the present invention. Chondroitinases ABC and AC function by degrading polysaccharide side chains in protein-polysaccharide complexes, without degrading the protein core.

When resolved by SDS-PAGE, chondroitinase I migrates with an apparent molecular mass of about 110 kDa (see FIG. 1). Others have reported the appearance of a doublet in SDS-PAGE resolution of chondroitinase I (Sato et al., Agric. Biol. Chem. 50:4,1057-1059 (1986)). The present inventors have discovered that this doublet represents intact chondroitinase I and 90 a kDa degradation product. Commercial chondroitinase I protein preparations contain variable amounts of 90 kDa protein and 18 kDa protein degradation product fragments (see FIG. 1).

Yamagata et al. (J. Biol. Chem. 243:1523-1535 (1968)) describe the purification of the chondroitinase ABC from extracts of P. vulgaris. This enzyme selectively degrades the glycosaminoglycans chondroitin-4-sulfate, dermatan sulfate and chondroitin-6-sulfate (also referred to respectively as chondroitin sulfates A, B, and C which are side chains of proteoglycans) at pH 8 at higher rates than chondroitin or hyaluronic acid. The products of the degradation are large molecular weight unsaturated oligosaccharides and an unsaturated disaccharide. However, chondroitinase ABC does not attack keratosulfate, heparin or heparitin sulfate.

Kikuchi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,355, describe the purification of glycosaminoglycan degrading enzymes, such as chondroitinase ABC, by fractionating the enzyme by adsorbing a solution containing the enzyme onto an insoluble sulfated polysaccharide carrier and then desorbing the individual enzyme from the carrier.

The chondroitinase enzymes have use in ocular surgery as a means for rapid and specific non-surgical disruption of the attachment of the vitreous body to the neural retina of the eye, thereby facilitating removal of the vitreous body. For example, Hageman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,509, describes an ophthalmic vitrectomy method for selectively and completely disinserting (removing) the ocular vitreous body, epiretinal membranes, or fibrocellular membranes from the neural retina, ciliary epithelium and posterior lens surface of the mammalian eye as an adjunct to vitrectomy. An effective amount of an enzyme which disrupts or degrades chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan localized specifically to sites of vitreoretinal adhesion is administered to the eye thereby permitting complete disinsertion of the vitreous body and/or epiretinal membranes. The enzyme can be a protease-free glycosaminoglycanase. Hageman utilized chondroitinase ABC obtained from Seikagaku Koryo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, an impure preparation that typically includes chondroitinase I degradation products and/or proteinaceous stabilizers. Proteinaceous stabilizers are undesirable because they are unacceptable in therapeutic or surgical compositions to be administered to the human eye.

Some chondroitinases have also been described as having value in dissolving the cartilage of herniated discs without disturbing the stabilizing collagen components of discs.

Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,816, describes a method for treating intervertebral disc displacement in mammals, including humans, by injecting into the intervertebral disc space effective amounts of a solution containing chondroitinase ABC. The chondroitinase ABC was isolated and purified from extracts of P. vulgaris. This native enzyme material functioned to dissolve cartilage, such as herniated spinal discs. Specifically, the enzyme causes the selective chemonucleolysis of the nucleus pulposus which contains proteoglycans and randomly dispersed collagen fibers.

Another chondroitinase, chondroitinase II, has now been isolated and purified from P. vulgaris by the present inventors. Additionally, the present inventors have discovered an efficient copurification method in which a mixture chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II can be conveniently obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an SDS-PAGE gel of the antibody affinity chromatographic fractionation of a chondroitinase enzyme preparation. Lane A is the unfractionated chondroitinase and Lanes B and C are affinity purified chondroitinases I (110 kDa) and II (112 kDa) and one of the degradation products of chondroitinase I (90 kDa).

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an SDS-PAGE gel of a preparation of chondroitinase enzymes preparation. Lane A is the purified chondroitinase I protein; Lane B is the purified chondroitinase II protein; Lane C is a 90 kilodalton enzymatic cleavage or degradation product of chondroitinase I protein; Lane D is the chondroitinase enzyme preparation with a doublet composed of the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of gel isoelectric focusing of pure chondroitinase II (Lanes A and C); co-purified chondroitinases I and II (Lane B); and purified chondroitinase I (Lane D).

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an analysis by thin layer chromatography of the digestion of proteoglycan by chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the component peaks of the digestion of chondroitin sulfate by chondroitinase I, as identified by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Peak I, eluting at the void volume, is chondroitinase I. Peak II comprises two distinct components designated IIa and IIb, where IIa contains the 1/3 R.F. sugar in an enriched form, while IIb is an oversulfated disaccharide. Peak III (labelled as IIIa and IIIb) elutes close to the bed volume and consists of almost pure disaccharide. Peak IV consists of non-sugar components.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the analysis by thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the component peaks depicted in FIG. 5. The Lane marked "Digest" is the chondroitin sulfate material that is loaded on the GPC column as digested with chondroitinase I, prior to fractionation by GPC. The other Lanes correspond to the GPC peaks as described for FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the 6S form of the tetrasaccharide Δ4,5-D-glucuronic acid-β(1→3)-2N-acetyl, 6-sulfo, D-galactosamine-β(1→4)-D-glucuronic acid-β(1→3)-2N-acetyl, 6-sulfo, D-galactosamine.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of the preparation and use of the affinity chromatography system of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a graphic illustration of an initial step in the co-purification of chondroitinases I and II in which an induced P. vulgaris extract is fractionated using MacroPrep High S cation exchange chromatography. The graph (solid line) shows the absorbance at 280 nm of the column eluate (UB, unbound; BW, buffer wash; and CS, specific elution with chondroitin sulfate). The inset is an illustration of the SDS-PAGE profiles of the unbound, buffer wash, and chondroitin sulfate eluate fractions.

FIG. 10 is a graphic illustration of the co-purification of chondroitinases I and II by MacroPrep High Q anion exchange chromatography. The inset is an illustration of an SDS-PAGE (4-20%) of:

Lane 1--Load of High Q, diluted 5 fold;

Lanes 2, 3--Flow through of High Q, diluted 5 fold;

Lanes 4, 5--Flow through of High Q, diluted 10 fold;

Lanes 6, 7--Flow through of High Q, diluted 20 fold;

Lanes 8, 9--Flow through of High Q, diluted 40 fold;

Lane 10--Flow through of High Q, diluted 80 fold;

Lane 11--Standard Chondroitinase.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of the individual separation of chondroitinases I and II using MacroPrep High S cation exchange chromatography. The graph shows the absorbance at 280 nm of the column eluate. The inset is an illustration of the SDS-PAGE profiles of the material loaded on the column (LOAD); the unbound material (UB); the buffer wash (BW); chondroitinase I (110 kDa); and chondroitinase II (112 kDa).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Chondroitinase II, a protein having an isoelectric point of approximately 8.4-8.45 and an apparent molecular mass of 112 kDa when electrophoresed in a 4 to 20% gradient acrylamide gel in 25 mM Tris/192 mM glycine buffer at pH 8.5 in the presence of about 0.1% (w/v) SDS, has been isolated and purified. The amino acid sequence of chondroitinase II is provided as SEQ ID NO:2.

A process for the copurification by affinity chromatography of the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins produced by Proteus vulgaris is also provided. The process includes:

(a) preparing a clarified homogenate of induced P. vulgaris, the homogenate having a pH of 5.8 to 7.4;

(b) loading the homogenate onto a negatively charged cation exchange resin chromatographic support so that any positively charged proteins comprising chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II in the homogenate form a non-covalent bond with the negatively charged support;

(c) affinity-eluting, in pools, the chondroitinase proteins from the support with an aqueous solution of chondroitin sulfate at a pH 7.0-9.5;

(d) loading the affinity eluted protein pools onto an anion exchange resin chromatographic support to yield an unbound eluate; and

(e) recovering the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins in the unbound eluate.

In another aspect, the proteins can be further purified by metal chelating chromatography. The copurification process typically results in a weight/weight ratio of approximately 60% chondroitinase I:40% chondroitinase II, although ratios of up to approximately 80% chondroitinase I:20% chondroitinase II are also obtained.

Therapeutic or surgical compositions of isolated chondroitinases I and II or the copurified mixture of chondroitinase I and II are also disclosed. Preferably, the amount of chondroitinases I and II is a disinsertion effective amount. These compositions are used in a method for selectively and completely disinserting the vitreous body from the neural retina of an eye. The compositions are administered to an eye in need of such treatment, preferably by intravitreal, subvitreal, sublenticular, and posterior chamber administration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention encompasses the identification and isolation of the enzyme chondroitinase II. Chondroitinase II can be purified separately from the enzyme chondroitinase I, or the two enzymes can be copurified by methods also encompassed by the present invention. These two enzymes are formulated in a composition, preferably in the absence of proteinaceous stabilizers such as, for example, bovine serum albumin, and other impurities that affect the properties of the mixture of these two distinct enzymes. Proteinaceous stabilizers are unsuitable for use in therapeutic or surgical compositions for administration to humans and particularly to the human eye. An assay for chondroitinase II is also provided. Chondroitinases I and II are used together to effect selective and complete disinsertion of the vitreous body from the neural retina of the eye.

Chondroitinase II

Chondroitinase II is an enzyme that is distinct from chondroitinase I, although the two enzymes compliment each other in that each is involved in the complete degradation of proteoglycans involved in vitreoretinal adhesion. When chondroitinase I is resolved by SDS-PAGE, it migrates with an apparent molecular mass of about 110 kDa (FIG. 1). However, chondroitinase I may appear as a doublet because proteolytic degradation products of chondroitinase I may be detected as well. The present inventors have further identified these degradation products, through the use of specific antibodies, as equimolar amounts of 90 kDa and 18 kDA species. FIG. 1 illustrates an SDS-PAGE of the fractionation of an efficacious preparation of chondroitinase by antibody affinity chromatography. The fractionation was conducted as follows:

A fragment of chondroitinase (18 kD) was purified from the (90+18) kD chondroitinase by G.P.C. in 4M urea, free of the contaminating proteins (which have much higher molecular weights.) Antibodies were produced against the 18 kDa fragment. A chondroitinase affinity gel was prepared to covalently attach amino groups of recombinant chondroitinase to the gel. Purified 18 kDa specific IgG from serum were prepared using the affinity column. The 18 kDa specific was covalently coupled on a protein A-Gel. Protein A binds the constant region of IgG and hence properly orients the binding region. The minor components from chondroitinase were fractionated using gel. Both species of degradation product are presumably formed by at least one endoproteolytic cleavage within the intact chondroitinase I protein likely resulting from impurities in typical chondroitinase I preparations.

Isolated, purified chondroitinase II protein was analyzed for its physical and chemical properties.

SDS-PAGE and Mass Spectrometry

Chondroitinase II migrates under certain SDS-PAGE conditions more slowly than the intact chondroitinase I protein. Chondroitinase II could not be detected in conventional SDS-PAGE systems, however. It was isolated and identified by the present inventors from a gradient of acrylamide in 23 mM Tris/192 mM glycine buffer at pH 8.5 in the presence of about 0.1% (w/v) SDS. A 7% gel can also be use.

Chondroitinase II has an apparent molecular mass of 112 kDa when electrophoresed by SDS-PAGE as described above. It is observed as the upper band of the previously unresolved doublet of FIG. 2, lane D.

The mass for the purified native chondroitinase II found by mass spectrometry is 111,772±27 daltons by electrospray and 111,725±20 daltons by laser desorption. These data correspond to the mass predicted from the DNA sequence that encodes chondroitinase II and to the mass found for recombinant chondroitinase II. The mass for chondroitinase II is 700-800 daltons less than that for chondroitinase I, even though in an SDS-PAGE gel the chondroitinase II band is the upper band of the doublet.

Isoelectric Point

Isoelectric focusing (IEF) of the chondroitinase II protein yields an isoelectric point (pI) of approximately 8.4-8.45, which is similar to that for the two isoforms of chondroitinase I, which have pIs of approximately 8.3-8.35 and 8.4-8.45, respectively. (See FIG. 3). IEF conditions were as follows:

The amplholine range used was pH 8 to 9.5 in a 5% polyacrylamide gel. The pH gradient was induced by 1M H₃ PO₄ and 1M NaOH, respectively.

Sequencing

The derived amino acid sequences of chondroitinases I and II are illustrated in SEQ ID NO:1 and SEQ ID NO:2, respectively. Although the two proteins may appear as a single band by standard SDS-PAGE, they resolve as a doublet under the special SDS-PAGE conditions described herein. The distinct nature of these two proteins is further confirmed by sequencing of the first forty amino acid residues at the amino-terminal of each protein as well as from the remainder of their amino acid sequences which were predicted from their nucleotide sequences.

Amino-terminal sequencing of the isolated and purified native chondroitinase II protein confirms that it has the same amino-terminal sequence as that predicted from the nucleotide sequence and determined by amino-terminal sequencing for the recombinantly-produced chondroitinase II protein that was conducted using a ProSequencer Model 6600 (Milligen/Biosearch, Milford, Mass.) and following the manufacturer's instruction manual.

In particular, the first twenty residues (SEQ ID NO:2) of the amino-terminus are identical for native and recombinant chondroitinase II except that recombinant chondroitinase II includes an amino terminal methionine residue which is not present in the native protein. Sequencing of residues 21-40 was difficult due to increased non-specific Edman degradation. However, to the extent reliable identification of residues in this region was made, the residues are identical (except as explained above) for the native and recombinant chondroitinase II. The same is true for sequencing of the amino-terminus of the native and recombinant chondroitinase I (SEQ ID NO:1).

Antibody Binding Studies

Further evidence for the distinctiveness of chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II is provided by polyclonal antibody binding studies on Western blots. Chondroitinase I binds as expected to a polyclonal antibody against chondroitinase I, but does not bind (cross-react) to a polyclonal antibody against chondroitinase II. Similarly, chondroitinase II binds as expected to a polyclonal antibody against chondroitinase II, but does not bind (cross-react) to a polyclonal antibody against chondroitinase I.

Additionally, two different behaviors are observed under native and denaturing conditions as well. Under denaturing conditions, such as detergent treatment with SDS, there is no cross-reaction between the two chondroitinase proteins. This indicates that there are no shared (sequence-dependent) epitopes when the molecules are unfolded. Under non-denaturing conditions (native), there is evidence that at least one epitope is shared, based on antibody affinity chromatography results, where there is copurification. Without being bound by any theory, it is believed that this epitope could be located at the chondroitin sulfate binding/recognition site of these proteins. This region may exhibit a conserved three dimensional arrangement of amino acids which bind the chondroitin sulfate substrate. Conformational epitopes, unlike sequence-dependent epitopes, are lost when the proteins are denatured. Thus, the antibody binds only to the native, but not to the denatured proteins.

The chondroitinase II protein also has high affinity to heparin sulfate, as does chondroitinase I.

Biological Activity

The biological activity of the chondroitinase II protein is also different than that of chondroitinase I. Chondroitinase II biological activity was first examined by selectively removing the chondroitinase II protein from a batch of chondroitinase enzyme preparation that had been shown previously to be active in vivo. When this batch lacking chondroitinase II was tested, it was no longer fully effective in vivo and resulted in an incomplete vitreous disinsertion.

The action of chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II upon proteoglycan was further tested in vitro using thin layer chromatography. As will be described in detail below, chondroitinase I by random endolytic cleavage generates a mixture of sugars in the initial stages. Extensive digestion by chondroitinase I generates three end products, one of which one is the end product disaccharides (mainly the 6S form). However, two additional digestion products are seen, one migrating at about one-third and the other migrating at about two-thirds the R.F. seen for the disaccharides.

In contrast, chondroitinase II by itself does not digest proteoglycan. However, when chondroitinase II is added to chondroitinase I, neither of the two additional digestion products are seen; instead, all the material is digested to completion, that is, to the disaccharides. These results are replicated when chondroitin sulfate is substituted for proteoglycan. This complete digestion is seen even at low proportions of chondroitinase II. A 90% chondroitinase I:10% chondroitinase II (w/w) mixture provides complete digestion of the proteoglycan or chondroitin sulfate to disaccharides. These results were also replicated in the in vivo experiments described below.

In the eye, the chondroitinase proteins degrade the chondroitin sulfate side chains of proteoglycan, but not the protein core of proteoglycan. Therefore, for in vitro studies, it is acceptable to use chondroitin sulfate instead of proteoglycan, because chondroitin sulfate is the moiety attacked by the proteins and because the cost of obtaining chondroitin sulfate is much lower than proteoglycan.

The nature of the products of the degradation of chondroitin sulfate by the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins was examined by thin layer chromatography (TLC) (see FIG. 4), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and mass spectrometry.

First, a silica gel based TLC method was developed to separate the disaccharide degradation products of chondroitin sulfate and proteoglycan and to identify the unknown sugars. The disaccharides 0S, 4S and 6S were all separated. The solvent system used contained various proportions of ethyl acetate, acetic acid and water. The disaccharides were visualized by alkaline silver nitrate, which stains reducing sugars brown. Because TLC requires only 0.025 ml of sample, it allowed the use of the expensive proteoglycan as a substrate, which was compared to chondroitin sulfate.

Using one dimensional TLC to analyze products, when chondroitinase I acts on proteoglycan, there were two oligosaccharides of unknown composition that were generated besides the disaccharide, which was the major product. These two oligosaccharides migrated at 1/3 and 2/3 the R.F. seen for the disaccharide. The 2/3 R.F. sugar eventually was cleaved by the chondroitinase I, over an extended time period (at a rate at least one hundred times slower than the rate at which chondroitinase II cleaves this sugar). In contrast, the 1/3 R.F. sugar was not cleaved even after an extended incubation. However, if 10% by weight of the chondroitinase I protein was substituted by the chondroitinase II protein, both the 2/3 R.F. and the 1/3 R.F. sugar were rapidly digested, to an extent that they did not accumulate at detectable levels.

The TLC experiment was repeated in two dimensions, first with digestion by chondroitinase I and then with digestion by chondroitinase II. Proteoglycan was digested by chondroitinase I and then chromatographed along the first dimension of a TLC. The separated sugars were then digested with pure chondroitinase II protein on the TLC plate. The plate was then run along the second dimension under the same conditions used for the first dimension. Thus, the sugars that were not cleaved by the chondroitinase II protein migrate along the diagonal, while those that were cleaved had altered migration characteristics of the products causing the products to migrate away from the diagonal.

The results show that all spots except the oligosaccharide migrating at about one-third the R.F. were at the diagonal. This indicates that most sugars generated by digestion of proteoglycan by chondroitinase I were not further digested by the chondroitinase II protein. However, this particular oligosaccharide was completely absent from the diagonal position and instead showed two spots migrating faster, indicating that it was cleaved to two smaller saccharides.

TLC was then repeated using micro-preparative techniques to isolate these unknown sugars, by scraping and extracting them off the TLC plate. These isolated sugars were then analyzed. Ten mg of proteoglycan (ICN Biomedical Costa Mesa, Calif.) were digested with 8 μg of either recombinant or purified native chondroitinase I protein for 1 hour at 37° C., and the products were chromatographed on TLC plates, loading the samples as streaks. After chromatography, the silica gel was scraped from the TLC plates as bands 5 mm apart. These silica gel pools were extracted three times using deionized water, which was expected to solubilize most of the oligosaccharide present in these fractions. These fractions were then chromatographed on TLC, to identify the fraction containing the oligosaccharide of interest. The fraction containing the disaccharide was also identified and was used as a control in subsequent experiments.

The analysis of saccharide samples (including the 1/3 R.F. sugar) recovered from micro-preparative TLC was not fully successful, probably because of interference from silicates extracted from the TLC plate with the sugars. The low amount of sugars recovered by this method also contributed to difficulty of further analyses. To attempt the recovery of digestion products on a larger scale would have been very difficult if proteoglycan were used as substrate, because this material is expensive for small quantities and unavailable commercially in large quantities. As an alternative approach, the abundant and relatively inexpensive substrate chondroitin sulfate was used. This substitute was contaminated with low amounts of intact and partially degraded proteoglycan. In addition, GPC was used for isolation of the sugars.

GPC provided good separation of the sugars, which were recovered in quantities suitable for analysis. In addition, silicate contamination was eliminated (unlike micro-preparative TLC). A recombinantly-expressed chondroitinase I protein was used to obtain the digest. This digest was next chromatographed using GPC. With the two native chondroitinase proteins, even using the purification method described above, trace amounts (less than 1%) of each protein were found in the other; this affected the results by decreasing the yields of the desired tetrasaccharide. It is understood that, in vivo, this is not a concern. Therefore, the native purified chondroitinase proteins are suitable for causing complete vitreal disinsertion in the eye. It is only in the in vitro studies that it is preferred to use recombinant chondroitinase I with the native chondroitinase II. Recombinant chondroitinase I was obtained by the expression in E. coli of the gene encoding chondroitinase I through the use of samples deposited with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC 69234).

The recombinant chondroitinase I digests chondroitin sulfate into products that were recovered as four peaks from a gel permeation column (Spectra/Gel TAc, Spectrum Medical Industries Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.) run with 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as solvent. The first peak, designated I, was a small peak eluting at the void volume and did not contain any reducing sugar. It was mainly chondroitinase I. The second peak, designated II, comprised two distinct components designated IIa and IIb. IIa contained the 1/3 R.F. sugar in an enriched form, while IIb turned out to be an oversulfated disaccharide. The third peak, designated III, which was the largest, eluted close to the bed volume and consisted of almost pure disaccharide. This GPC is depicted in FIG. 5 (peak III is labelled IIIa and IIIb). Peak IV consists of non-sugar components. (When this procedure was repeated on a GPC-HPLC system with small amounts of proteoglycan instead of chondroitin sulfate, similar results were obtained).

The peaks from the GPC of FIG. 5 were analyzed by TLC and the oligosaccharide of interest (Peak IIa) was found to elute with the solvent system described above, free of the major component of the digest, the disaccharides. The fractions were lyophilized to remove the TFA/water and were analyzed. Approximately one-fourth of the digested material was composed of the oligosaccharide, which was obtained as a white crystalline salt-free powder. The results of the TLC are shown in FIG. 6.

The purified oligosaccharide was incubated with different chondroitinase protein preparations, all of them being at a substrate:protein ratio of 1000:1. The pure chondroitinase II protein rapidly digested the oligosaccharide to products that migrated at the position of the disaccharides. Complete digestion was obtained at the first time point tested (15 minutes). As expected, the native chondroitinase I protein had no effect on this oligosaccharide; no disaccharide was generated even by the last time point tested (4 hours). A co-purified mixture (60:40 w/w) of the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins also cleaved this oligosaccharide, though not as rapidly as with the pure chondroitinase II protein. Significantly, the rate of cleavage of the oligosaccharide correlated quite well with the chondroitinase II protein content. This observation indicates that the oligosaccharide is useful as a specific substrate to quantitate active chondroitinase II protein, without interference from chondroitinase I.

The oligosaccharide corresponding to peak IIa was analyzed using electrospray mass spectroscopy, generating a spectrum corresponding to a mass of 918 daltons. This observed mass fits very well with the calculated mass of a tetrasaccharide of composition `A--B--A--B`, where the two sugars A and B are D-glucuronic acid and monosulfated N-acetyl D-galactosamine, respectively, which are the repeating units of chondroitin sulfate. There were several smaller peaks besides the 919 dalton (M+H) main peak, which is identified as the singly protonated sugar; their masses in order of intensity along with their tentative identification were:

839 da (M-SO₃): the monodesulfated sugar

901 da (M-H₂ O): the monodehydrated sugar

941 da (M+Na): the mono sodium salt

811 da (M--SO₃ --H₂ O), 759 da (M--2SO₃), 741 da (M--2SO₃ --H₂ O), along with traces of other related peaks which correspond to other combinations. In addition, some minor unidentified peaks were also detected, particularly two peaks at 431 da and 531 da. The latter mass fits quite well with the expected mass of a disulfated disaccharide.

Chondroitinase I partially degrades chondroitin sulfate, yielding an unsaturated disulfated tetrasaccharide with a molecular weight of 918 Daltons as calculated from its chemical formula and as observed by electrospray mass spectrometry. The structure of the major form (about 60%) of the tetrasaccharide is depicted in FIG. 7, where the sulfated side chain is at position 6 of the second and fourth rings from the left. The minor form (about 40%; not depicted) of the tetrasaccharide has this sulfated side chain at position 4 of the second and fourth rings. Both the 4S and 6S sugars are digested at similar rates by chondroitinase II to produce the disaccharides. The tetrasaccharide is referred to as Δ4,5-D-glucuronic acid-β(1→3)-2N-acetyl, 6-sulfo, D-galactosamine-β(1→4)-D-glucuronic acid-β(1→3)-2N-acetyl, 6-sulfo, D-galactosamine (FIG. 7).

Table 1 below compares the characteristics of chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II.

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                         Comparison of the 110 kDa Chondroitinase I Protein                             and the 112 kDa Chondroitinase Protein                                                   110 kDa     112 kDa                                                  ______________________________________                                         SDS-PAGE    ˜110,000 daltons                                                                       ˜112,000 daltons                               molecular weight                                                               Electrospray mass                                                                          112,527 + 25 daltons                                                                         111,772 + 27 daltons                                 spectrometry                                                                   Laser desporption                                                                          112,508 + 20 daltons                                                                         111,725 + 20 daltons                                 mass spectrometry                                                              Isoelectric point/s                                                                        pH 8.35 and pH 8.45                                                                          pH 8.45                                              Amino acid  absence of cysteines,                                                                        otherwise similar to                                 composition rich in serine                                                                               110 kDa                                              Release of di and                                                                          +++           --                                                   oligosaccharides from                                                          chondroitin sulfate                                                            Digestion of                                                                               --            +++                                                  oligosaccharides                                                               (e.g. Unknown 1, 2)                                                            ______________________________________                                    

Assay

The tetrasaccharide is a good candidate for developing an assay for chondroitinase II, because it is resistant to cleavage by chondroitinase I (a small amount of cleavage of tetrasaccharide to disaccharide by chondroitinase I does occur, but the rate of digestion is several hundred times slower than that seen for chondroitinase II). Conversely, chondroitin sulfate is resistant to cleavage by chondroitinase II. In vitro, the tetrasaccharide is cleaved completely within a few minutes by chondroitinase II, while it is not cleaved over several hours by the same amount of chondroitinase I.

Using the foregoing information, an assay for measuring the activity of the chondroitinase II protein was developed. This assay monitors the conversion of the tetrasaccharide to the disaccharide on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The chondroitinase II protein converts the tetrasaccharide to disaccharides that are separated from the substrate by HPLC on a GPC-HPLC column, such as a Shodex-OH pak KB-802 (Shoko Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan), using polymethacrylate as the matrix.

The assay is conducted as follows. First, the tetrasaccharide substrate is prepared in a suitable solution. Pure tetrasaccharide is dissolved in water to an appropriate dilution, such as about 2 mg/ml. Preferably, the pH is adjusted to approximately 8 to 9 with an appropriate basic solvent, such as 0.1M NaOH. A buffer, such as stock borate buffer, pH 8.5, is added to give final buffer molarity of 5 mM, pH 8.5. The volume is adjusted to give an appropriate substrate solution of tetrasaccharide, with a concentration such as 0.2-20 mg/ml.

Next, to the substrate solution is added an appropriately diluted mix of either or both of the chondroitinase proteins, such as 0.1-5 μg/ml, with a preferred dilution of 2 μg/ml. The preferred ratio of substrate solution to chondroitinase proteins is 6:1 (v/v). The assay solution is incubated at 10°-50° C., preferably 37° C., for an appropriate time, such as 15 minutes, and then chromatographed by GPC using an HPLC, such as a Shodex-OH pak KB-802.5 GPC-HPLC column (Shoko Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Other HPLC methods are also suitable, such as anion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and reverse-phase.

The disaccharide product is detected and estimated by loading the digested substrate on a GPC-HPLC column such as described above. The mobile phase is 0.03% TFA in water. Other mobile phases can also be used, such as acetonitrile-water, or buffers like phosphate and borate. There is baseline separation of the unsaturated tetrasaccharide substrate and the disaccharide product. The relative amounts of the materials under these two peaks are estimated by a variety of conventional techniques, such as measuring the absorbance at a given wavelength, mass spectrometry, conductivity, refractive index and viscosity, and comparison to standards purified earlier and identified by TLC and other methods. It is often preferred to measure the absorbance at 232 nm.

Using GPC, the tetrasaccharide elutes before the disaccharide. The tetrasaccharide is shown to be stable during the several steps of the assay, such as adjustment of the pH to 8.5 with NaOH, and incubation for short durations (up to 30 minutes) at 37° C.

Even at high ratios of substrate to chondroitinase protein, such as 20,000:1 (w/w), the purified chondroitinase II protein converts the tetrasaccharide to disaccharide at close to linear rates, at least during the initial time points. The recombinant chondroitinase I protein is not able to effect this conversion. However, as expected, a co-purified mixture of chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins (85:15 w/w) does catalyze this conversion. The rate of this conversion is proportionately slower than that seen for pure chondroitinase II protein, which is again as expected, in agreement with its lower content of the chondroitinase II protein.

When the concentration of chondroitinase proteins is increased one hundred fold (200:1 substrate:chondroitinase protein), both the pure chondroitinase II protein and the 85:15 co-purified protein mixture cause complete conversion to the disaccharide in 15 minutes. Even if this high concentration is used for recombinant chondroitinase I, no significant activity is detected. Thus, this in vitro assay provides a useful method for monitoring the conversion of the tetrasaccharide to the disaccharide, which is dependent only on the content of chondroitinase II. However, when the Proteus-derived chondroitinase I which contains a known contamination of the chondroitinase II protein (approximately 1 to 2%) is used alone, chondroitinase I does exhibit a detectable conversion even at this high purity.

Purification

Although a variety of methods can be used to isolate and purify the native chondroitinase II protein, a preferred method will now be set forth. This method first involves the copurification of chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II from the crude extract of the P. vulgaris fermentation mash (See FIG. 9).

It is determined that the copurification process typically results in a weight/weight ratio of approximately 60% chondroitinase I:40% chondroitinase II, although ratios of up to approximately 80% chondroitinase I:20% chondroitinase II are also obtained. The copurified proteins are then separated from each other by additional process steps such as further cation exchange chromatography.

An affinity chromatography system is used for the copurification of the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins that recognize chondroitin sulfate. First, a cation exchange resin is used to bind the chondroitinase I and the chondroitinase II proteins from the crude extract of the P. vulgaris fermentation mash. Contaminating proteins are washed from the column and are not bound to the resin. The affinity elution of the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins is accomplished with a solution of chondroitin sulfate. The coeluted proteins contain contamination of chondroitin sulfate and its digestion products.

Final copurification occurs by loading the impure mixture on an anion exchange resin. The resin binds chondroitin sulfate, other proteins, DNA and endotoxins and digestion products, while the chondroitinase I and the chondroitinase II proteins flow through unbound. The final copurification, when done on a large scale, is accomplished using a resin which has been charged with nickel chloride and equilibrated. Most remaining contaminating proteins flow through while the two proteins of interest bind. The chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins are then eluted from the resin. While nickel salts are preferred, other salts such as zinc, copper and iron are also acceptable.

The proteins are eluted from the P. vulgaris fermentation mash using a simple chromatographic system. Additionally, the proteins are purified and retain their biological activity without a loss in potency.

The resins used in this process are easily prepared and can be recycled by a simple process of regeneration with an acid, alkali cycle. Furthermore, the ion exchange resins are relatively inexpensive.

The copurified proteins are suitable for use in complete disinsertion of the vitreous body in ocular surgery. If desired, the copurified proteins can be separated from each other by additional process steps involving further cation exchange chromatography. The individually purified proteins can be used in ratios other than those obtained by the copurification procedure.

Specifically, the copurification of the two proteins is performed as follows. The induced P. vulgaris fermentation mash is centrifuged and the resulting pellet is suspended in pH 6.8 sodium phosphate buffer and then homogenized. The pH is most preferred in the range of 6.5 to 7.0. Also preferred is the range of 5.8 to 7.4. At a pH below 5.8, there is loss of activity due to precipitation of the proteins under the acidic conditions. The loss in activity is most significant at a pH below 5. Buffers other than phosphate can also be used. Preferably, the supernatant is adjusted to pH 6.8 using acetic acid and a conductivity of at least 3 milliSiemens/cm or lower. The appropriate conductivity is critical to achieve complete binding of the chondroitinase proteins to the subsequent cation exchange resin. It is determined in experiments that the conductivity must be below 3 milliSiemens/cm.

By doing these steps, the efficiency at which the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins bind to the cation exchange resin which follows in the next step is increased. Smaller amounts are bound up to a conductivity of about 4-5 milliSiemens/cm. Higher conductivities result in the majority of the proteins being lost in the unbound fraction.

The pH adjusted, clarified and homogenized extract is loaded onto a cation exchange resin support, Macro-Prep™ High S (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Melville, N.Y.). A preferred cation exchange resin is a high efficiency cation exchange resin which will allow a minimal amount of resin to be used. Among the charged support resin materials that are suitable for use in the present invention are other negatively charged groups. For example, carboxymethyl (CM) can be also used. Several available supports can be used: e.g., Macro-Prep™ which are acrylic supports, or other commonly-used supports like dextran, agarose, polyacrylamide, silica, or polymethacrylate, as long as they carry negative charges and are capable of binding to the positively charged proteins. The chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins bind to the resin, while most of the protein contaminants flowthrough. The resin is washed with pH 6.8 sodium phosphate buffer to near zero absorbance at 280 nm and then is equilibrated with pH 8.3 sodium borate solution.

This pH adjustment is important to obtain an effective/specific elution in the next step. This pH is close to the optimal pH for chondroitinase activity. At this pH, there is a high degree of specific interaction between the chondroitinase proteins that are bound on the resin and the excess free substrate, causing the specific elution, while non-chondroitinase proteins (contaminants) remain bound. This pH is also close to the isoelectric point of the proteins, which allows for greater ease of elution. A pH of 8 to 9 can be used, although pH 8.3 to 8.5 gives the best results and is most particularly preferred. Other buffers in this pH range are also acceptable.

The affinity elution is accomplished with a 1% solution of chondroitin sulfate in water at a preferred pH range of 8.5 to 9. The efficiency decreases if the elution pH is below 7. The pH is adjusted with sodium hydroxide. Other alkalies can also be used. The concentration of the substrate can be as low as 0.2% and as high as 10%. However, a lower percentage results in lower yields (below 0.5%) and a higher percentage results in higher levels of contaminating proteins due to increased conductivity of the eluent. The recovery of chondroitinase activity is about 72%, with a purity of 90 to 98% of the proteins being a mixture of the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins. (See FIG. 9).

Although the pH of the chondroitin sulfate solution is adjusted, since there is no buffer in the solution (chondroitin sulfate is dissolved in deionized water), the pH is maintained close to the equilibrium pH of the resin (which is the borate buffer pH, used earlier before elution), in this case pH 8.3. The elution using the substrate results in higher chondroitinase protein purity compared to that obtained using salt solutions. In addition, salt eluted proteins require an additional desalting/diafiltration step before the next ion exchange step, which is not required for the affinity eluted proteins. This is because the conductivities needed for salt elution are about 20 fold more than 1% chondroitin sulfate solution.

The affinity eluted protein pool is simply adjusted to a pH of 6.8 preferably with acetic acid and is loaded on an anion exchange resin support Macro-Prep™ High Q (Bio-Rad; Q stands for quaternary ammonium) or equally efficient resin. A preferred anion exchange resin is a high efficiency anion exchange resin which will allow an minimal amount of resin to be used. Other positively charged groups like DEAE can also be used.

Both the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins are co-eluted from the column, and the chondroitin sulfate and its digestion products are bound to the resin along with other proteins, DNA, and endotoxins. The resin is not only capable of removing chondroitin sulfate and increasing the purity of the product, but is also very effective in removal of endotoxin. The recovery in this step is 86% and the protein purity of the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins is increased to 95-99%. (See FIG. 10).

On a 1000 liter fermentation scale, the protein purity of copurified chondroitinase I and II enzyme proteins after a sequential purification on a cation exchange column and a anion exchange column is less than that obtained under laboratory scale purifications. A third chromatography step using metal chelating affinity chromatography (MCAC) is used to improve purity of the proteins. The separation is based on differing abilities of proteins to interact with chelated metal attached to an insoluble support. Proteins bind mainly because of their content of histidine or cysteine. Varying the metal ions and the pH and salt concentration of the loading buffer establishes conditions under which the contaminating proteins will flow through, and only the chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins bind to the charged resin. By eluting with 50 mM imidazole in 50 mM tris-acetate at pH 8 in the presence of 0.2M NaCl as the elution buffer, a protein purity of 98% is obtained without losing in vivo activity. Imidazole may be present in the protein eluted, and may be separated from the protein by dialysis or diafiltration against water or a buffer.

The copurified proteins can be separated from each other by additional process steps. The individually purified proteins could thereafter, be reformulated in ratios other than those obtained by the copurification procedure.

The eluate containing the copurified chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins is adjusted to a pH of 6.8. The copurified proteins are subjected to cation-exchange chromatography on Macro-Prep™ High S column, pH 6.8. The column is washed with a borate buffer, pH 8.5. The two chondroitinase proteins are eluted from the column with a NaCl gradient of 0-150 mM in borate buffer. Alternatively, a single molarity solution of 50 mM NaCl in borate buffer is also equally effective. In each case, the chondroitinase I protein elutes in earlier fractions, separated from the chondroitinase II protein, which elutes in later fractions. (See FIG. 11). Amino-terminal sequencing of the purified chondroitinase I fractions yields a single sequence; and amino-terminal sequencing of the purified chondroitinase II fractions also yields a single, different sequence. Each protein is recovered at a purity of 98-99% and a yield of 85-95% from the copurified protein mixture.

Disinsertion and Therapeutic Compositions

The vitreous body is a connective tissue compartment which occupies four-fifths of the volume of the eye and provides structural and metabolic support for ocular tissues, while also assisting in the maintenance of intraocular pressure and allowing light to reach the retina. The vitreous body often forms secondary attachments to the retina at the border of degenerative or inflammatory lesions. In turn, these attachments form pivot points on the surface of the retina which often cause its detachment.

Vitrectomy is the surgical removal of a portion of the vitreous body and is indicated for the treatment or prevention of a variety of pathologic, operative or postoperative conditions which, if untreated, can result in blindness. It is preferred that vitrectomy be carried out using a method for selectively and completely disinserting the ocular vitreous body. The method takes advantage of the knowledge that a chondroitin sulfate-containing proteoglycan is involved in vitreoretinal adhesion and that compositions which act upon the proteoglycan will result in disinsertion of the vitreous body without deleterious effects upon the rest of the eye.

Testing of the isolated and purified native chondroitinase I and II proteins reveals that it is the combination of the two proteins which results in the complete disinsertion required for surgical vitrectomy, rather than either of the proteins individually.

One aspect of this invention comprises administering to the eye an effective amount of two chondroitinase enzymes, chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II, which degrade chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan/proteoglycan that is localized specifically to sites of vitreoretinal adhesion. Chondroitin sulfate is a glycosaminoglycan which is attached to a larger molecular weight proteoglycan. Chondroitin sulfate is responsible for vitreoretinal adhesion, such that degradation of chondroitin sulfate results in complete disinsertion of the vitreous body.

Use of these two proteins provides for enzymatic disruption of the vitreoretinal interface, in particular, to enzymatic disinsertion (complete removal) of the vitreous body of the eye.

In vivo, the dose of the two chondroitinase proteins needed to achieve complete disinsertion of the vitreous body in the eye varies with the time of treatment. In general, the shorter the period of treatment, the larger the dose, with the limitation that the dose cannot be high enough to cause retinal or ciliary body toxicity. The treatment time can range from as short as one minute up to several hours.

Generally, a surgical or therapeutic composition contains between 1 and 10,000 units and (CI activity units) of a mixture of chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins for selectively and completely disinserting the ocular vitreous body from the neural retina of the eye. Preferably, a surgical or therapeutic dosage would be between about 150 and about 1500 units. A unit is that quantity of protein that catalyzes the formation of 1 micromole of unsaturated disaccharide from chondroitin sulfate per minute at 37° C., pH 8.0. The dose is also calculated in terms of units of protein per milliliter of vitreous volume to be completely disinserted, and thus the dose can be as low as 0.05-0.1 of such units per ml.

It may be more convenient to refer to the activity of the proteins in terms of milligrams per milliliter of a pharmaceutically acceptable buffered solution. For chondroitinase I, 500 units/ml are equivalent to 1 mg protein/ml. A preferred dosage range is 1-10 mg total protein/0.4 ml buffered saline solution (BSS), with a particularly preferred dose of 4 mg total protein/0.4 ml BSS. In turn, the preferred ratios of proteins range from 90% chondroitinase I:10% chondroitinase II (w/w) to 60% chondroitinase I:40% chondroitinase II (w/w).

The chondroitinase proteins are preferably administered in a pharmaceutically acceptable buffered solution formed by mixing the concentrated proteins with a buffer solution. Any suitable buffer solution may be used, including sodium acetate, Tris, or a Balanced Salt Solution (Alcon, Fort Worth, Tex.). The proteins are effective at the pH range 4.5-9.0, preferably about pH 8.0. Therefore, the preferred pH range for buffered solutions of the proteins is approximately 7-8.

A typical formulation or dosage unit form includes a sterile lyophilized cake containing both of the copurified or isolated enzymes and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient. Suitable excipients include, but are not limited to, citrate buffer and dextrose. A pharmaceutically acceptable diluent may also be added. A suitable diluent is a balanced salt, such as, for example, a balanced salt diluent containing sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, sodium acetate, sodium citrate, and water such as, for example BSS (Alcon Surgical, Inc. Storrs, Conn.).

The lyophilized cake typically includes the excipient, and typically is reconstituted in 0.5 to 2.0 ml volumes of diluent prior to use.

Suitable dosages can be determined by those skilled in the art, such as, for example by establishing a matrix of and subjects assigning a subject to each dosage.

A non-limiting example of a formulation is given in Table 2 below:

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                         SAMPLE FORMULATION                                                             Ingredient        Protein lyophilized (mg/vial)                                ______________________________________                                         Chondroitinase    a                                                            Dextrose anhydrous, USP                                                                          5.00                                                         Sodium citrate dihydrate, USP                                                                    0.96                                                         Citric acid monohydrate, USP                                                                     0.03                                                         Sodium hydroxide, NF                                                                             b                                                            Water for injection                                                                              may be used                                                  ______________________________________                                          a adjustable to provide 3000 Units/vial, depending on the specific             activity of the bulk material, contains 10% overage.                           b added as required to adjust pH of final solution                       

In vivo testing in monkeys demonstrates the therapeutic compositions. Monkeys are anesthetized and the two chondroitinase proteins are administered to the eye by means known in the art, such as intravitreal, subvitreal, sublenticular and posterior chamber administration. In one procedure, part of the vitreous body is removed by a vitrectomy instrument inserted through a first port in the eye. Light for the surgeon is provided by an endoilluminator inserted through a second port in the eye. The remainder of the vitreous body is removed by injecting the protein solution of this invention through a third port referred to as the infusion terminal. The solution diffuses through the vitreous body and the two chondroitinase proteins act to degrade the chondroitin sulfate which attaches the vitreous to the retina. After the degradation is complete, which can occur in as little as 15 minutes, the completely disinserted vitreous is removed by suction and the eye is flushed with a saline solution. A buffer solution under proper pressure is then administered through the infusion terminal. Over time, the body synthesizes the necessary molecules to essentially reconstitute the vitreous body.

The animals are sacrificed and the eyes are analyzed by such methods as visual examination, histology and pathology, sonography, transmission electron microscopy, and the use of anti-chondroitin sulfate antibodies. Where the disinsertion is incomplete, such as when only chondroitinase I is administered, some of the vitreous body in the region of the vitreous base is large enough that it can be grasped by forceps. The selectivity of the two chondroitinase proteins is demonstrated in that, when complete disinsertion is achieved, no damage to the retina is visible.

A series of monkey vitrectomy experiments was performed, testing various purified Proteus chondroitinase preparations. These experiments are summarized as follows. Monkeys receiving compositions containing both chondroitinase proteins, isolated and purified from one of several fermentation batches, had vitreal disinsertion. A batch which was fractionated to remove the chondroitinase II protein caused incomplete disinsertion. Histology of the tissue showed that undigested chondroitin sulfate was present if chondroitinase II was not included in the dose administered.

When purified chondroitinase II protein was added back to the fractionated batch lacking chondroitinase II (to about 12% of total protein by weight), a successful disinsertion was achieved.

Based on evaluation of these preparations by surgical criteria, it is concluded that the chondroitinase II protein plays an essential role in effecting complete vitreal disinsertion. Without the inclusion of chondroitinase II, chondroitinase I alone was ineffective in achieving complete vitreal disinsertion in the animal model.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following examples illustrate the invention without limitation

EXAMPLE 1

Purification

A 10 L volume of induced P. vulgaris mash was centrifuged at 6,400 g for 20 minutes. The pellet was resuspended in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer at pH 6.8 and then was centrifuged again. The washed pellet was resuspended in the above buffer and homogenized three times through a Gaulin homogenizer at ˜9000 p.s.i., three times. The homogenate (1.8 liters) was centrifuged at 17,700 g for 1 hour. Most of the supernatant (1.4 liters of 1.7 liters) was adjusted to a pH of 6.8 using 1M acetic acid and to a conductivity of 3 milliSiemens/cm by dilution with deionized water. Both of these steps ensured the efficient binding of the chondroitinase proteins to the cation exchanger that follows.

The adjusted, clarified, homogenate (2.4 liters containing 62.4K units of chondroitinase I enzyme activity (EC #4.2.2.4)) was loaded on a Macro-Prep™ High S cation exchange column (Bio-Rad, Melville, N.Y.) of bed volume 340 ml, at a load of 184 units/ml resin. The chondroitinase proteins bound to the resin while the majority of contaminating proteins flowed through, unbound. The column was washed with -4 bed volumes of 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 6.8 to bring the absorbance at 280 nm close to baseline. The resin was equilibrated with -6 bed volumes of 40 mM sodium borate at pH 8.3.

The affinity elution was performed using a 1% solution of chondroitin sulfate (Fluka Biochemicals) in water, adjusted to a pH of about 8.5 to 9 with NAOH. The two proteins were specifically eluted as a sharp peak, in about half the bed volume. The recovery of chondroitinase activity was 72%, with 96 to 98% of the proteins being a mixture of the chondroitinase I and the chondroitinase II proteins.

The affinity eluted protein pool was adjusted to pH 6.8 with acetic acid and was loaded on a Macro-Prep™ High Q anion exchange resin (Bio-Rad, Melville, N.Y.) of bed volume 85 ml, equilibrated at pH 6.8. Both the chondroitinase proteins eluted unbound in the flow through, while the chondroitin sulfate and its digestion products were bound to the High Q resin. The removal of chondroitin sulfate and its degradation products was confirmed by sulfate microanalysis of the load and the flow-through. By this step, 99.6% of the sulfate in the load was removed and the remaining 0.4% could be accounted for primarily by partial oxidation of the sulfur within methionines in the proteins during ashing. In addition to the removal of chondroitin sulfate and its products, there was an increase in purity to about 98-99%. The recovery in this step was 38.3K units of chondroitinase (86%).

EXAMPLE 2

Purification

A 2.6 L volume of induced P. vulgaris mash was centrifuged at 6,400 g for 20 minutes. The resulting pellet was resuspended in 350 ml of 10 mm sodium phosphate buffer pH 6.8 and was centrifuged again. The pellet (142 g) was resuspended in 350 ml of deionized water and was homogenized for three passes at about 10,000 p.s.i.. The homogenate was clarified by centrifugation at 17,700 g for 1 hour, and clarified homogenate was pH adjusted to 6.8 with 1M acetic acid and diluted to a conductivity of 3 milliSiemens/cm with deionized water. The adjusted clarified homogenate (16.2K units in 850 ml) was loaded onto a Macro-Prep™ High S column (Bio-Rad, Melville, N.Y.) of bed volume of 105 ml (154 units/ml resin). The column was then washed with about 2 bed volumes of 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 6.8, followed by about 8 bed volumes of 40 MM sodium borate buffer of pH 8.3. The chondroitinase proteins were next co-eluted with 1% chondroitin sulfate in deionized water adjusted to pH-9 with 1M NAOH, at a purity of about 96-98% and a recovery of 88%. This eluted fraction was then adjusted to pH 6.8 with 0.1M acetic acid and loaded on a MacroPrep"` High Q column (Bio-Rad, Melville, N.Y.) of bed volume 10.5 ml, equilibrated in 10 MM sodium phosphate buffer pH 6.8. The chondroitinase proteins were collected in the flow-through at a recovery of 95% and a purity of about 98 to 99%. The overall recovery from mash to purified proteins was 73%.

EXAMPLE 3

Purification

A 1000 L P. vulgaris fermentation with a final chondroitinase potency of 7.9 u/ml was produced. The fermentation was diluted with 2000 L of deionized water and was cooled to 12° C. The diluted mash was centrifuged at a flow rate to 80 L/minute to separate the fermentation broth from the cell solids. The wet mash solids were diluted with deionized water prior to homogenization. The 200 L of wet cells were homogenized in three passes using the Gaulin M3 Homogenizer at 8000 psi and a flow rate of 5 L/minute. The homogenate was diluted with deionized water prior to clarification to lower the conductivity further and then was centrifuged to remove cell debris. The clarified homogenate was diluted further to lower the conductivity below 3 milliSiemens/cm.

This material (570 L) was loaded onto a 24 L Macro-Prep™ High S column cation exchange (Bio-Rad, Melville, N.Y.) that had been equilibrated with 10 mM sodium phosphate pH 6.8. The flow rate was 1 L/minute. After loading, the resin was washed with about 3 bed volumes of 10 mM phosphate pH 6.8 and then was equilibrated with 40 mM borate pH 8.3 (5 bed volumes) until the appropriate pH for elution was achieved. A 15% portion of the loaded chondroitinase I activity did not bind to the resin and was detected in the flow through. Elution was carried out with 1% chondroitin sulfate at pH 8.9 and was monitored by absorbance at 280 After 9 L eluted and the absorbance began to increase, fractions of 5 L were collected. Each fraction was analyzed by SDS-PAGE and enzyme activity assay. The desired fractions were combined, resulting in a recovery of 5.35 million units and a step yield of 82%. Purity of chondroitinases I and II by SDS-PAGE was 81%.

The pH of the High S eluate was adjusted to 6.9 using 1M acetic acid prior to loading onto a 3 L Macro-Prep™ High Q column (Bio-Rad, Melville, N.Y.). The feed was loaded onto the resin at 1780 u/ml resin at a superficial linear velocity of 100 cm/hr. The chondroitinase proteins were recovered in the flow-through, which was collected as one pool. Step yield from the anion exchange column was 96%. The flow through (9.95 L containing 5.14 million units) was concentrated by ultrafiltration, using a 30K spiral wound cartridge, to about 2 L before diafiltration against Water for Injection. The retentate was then lyophilized. Purity of the final lyophilized powder was 94% by area % stain from SDS-PAGE.

EXAMPLE 4

Purification

A chondroitinase preparation resulting from a 10 L fermentation was used. The mash was processed as described in Example 1. Side fractions containing the contaminating proteins were included to simulate the low purity obtained on large scale. This allowed for a preparation after the High Q step that was similar to that obtained on the large scale (i.e., about 90% purity). This became the starting preparation to standardize the third, metal affinity purification step. The purity of the eluate from the Macro Prep High Q by SDS-PAGE was approximately 90%.

For the final metal affinity purification step, a chelating Sepharose™ (Pharmacia LKB Biotechnology, Inc., Piscataway, N.J.) column with a bed volume of 23 ml was prepared. The resin was washed with deionized water, then charged with one bed volume of 0.1M nickel chloride. The resin was washed with water to remove unbound nickel and then was equilibrated with the loading buffer (50 mM Tris-acetate pH 8.0, 0.2M NACl). To the eluate from the High Q column, which contained low concentration of phosphate, 1M Tris-acetate (pH 8) and 2M NaCl were added to make a protein solution with the final concentration of the loading buffer. The prepared sample was loaded onto the column at 430 u/ml resin. The flow rate was 150 ml/hr corresponding to a superficial linear velocity of 75 cm/hr. After the sample was loaded, the resin was washed with loading buffer (approximately 5 bed volumes). Analysis of the flow through by activity assay and SDS-PAGE showed that most of the contaminating proteins, but less than 0.5% of the loaded activity, were recovered in this fraction. Elution with 50 mM imidazole in starting buffer resulted in the elution of a single protein peak, collected in fractions which were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. The desired fractions were combined resulting in a yield of 89% and an estimated chondroitinase purity of 96-98%.

EXAMPLE 5

Purification

Purification was repeated under the same conditions as Example 4, but with an increased load (900 u/ml resin). Yield off the column was 75%, and chondroitinase purity by SDS-PAGE was 98%. The eluate was concentrated, diafiltered into water, and lyophillzed.

EXAMPLE 6

Purification

A 1000 L induced P. vulgaris fermentation with a potency of 7.5 u/ml mash was initially processed as described in Example 2. Chondroitinases I and II purity of the eluate from the Macro-Prep™ High Q (Bio-Rad, Melville, N.Y.) column by SDS-PAGE was 83.9%. A column with a diameter of 18 cm was packed with approximately 9 L of Chelating Sepharose'm Fast Flow resin (Pharmacia LKB Bioteclmoloy, Inc., Piscataway, N.J.). After the resin had been washed with water, it was charged with nickel chloride and was equilibrated with 50 mM Trisacetate buffer (pH 8) containing 0.2M NaCl. The High Q flow-through was adjusted to a final concentration of 50 mM Trisacetate pH 8 and 0.2M NaCl. The prepared feed was loaded onto the column at 600 u/ml resin at a flow rate of 19.2 L/hour corresponding to a superficial linear velocity of 75 cm/hour. The chondroitinase proteins were eluted from the column with an elution buffer, made of 50 mM imidazole in starting buffer. Step yield was 89% and the purity of chondroitinases I and II was increased from 83.9% to 96.4%.

EXAMPLE 7

Isolation Of The Tetrasaccharide Substrate For Use In The Assay Of Chondroitinase Activity

5.8 mg of purified native chondroitinase I were added to 8 g chondroitin sulfate (Fluka Chemicals, Buchs, Switzerland) in 600 ml of water, pH adjusted to 8.8, with 0.1M NaOH. Alternatively, E. coli-expressed recombinant chondroitinase I, available by expression of ATCC 69234, was used. The mixture was incubated at 37° C. for 3 hours and was concentrated by partial lyophilization to 55 ml. The concentrate was diluted to 1:1 (v/v) with 0.1% TFA in water. The chondroitinase I digested chondroitin sulfate into products that were recovered as four peaks from a gel permeation column (Spectra/Gel TAc, Spectrum Medical Industries Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.) by eluting with 0.1% TFA as a solvent. The first peak, designated I, was a small peak eluting at the void volume, consisting of chondroitinase I, and did not contain any reducing sugar. The second peak, designated II, comprised two distinct components designated IIa and IIb. IIa contained the 1/3 R.F. sugar in an enriched form, while IIb was oversulfated disaccharide. The third peak, designated III, which was the largest, eluted close to the bed volume and consisted of almost pure disaccharide. This GPC is depicted in FIG. 3 (FIG. 019) (peak III is labelled IIIa and IIIb). Peak IV consisted of non-sugar components.

The peaks from the GPC were analyzed by TLC and the tetrasaccharide of interest (Peak IIa) were found to elute free of the major component of the digest, the disaccharides. The fractions were lyophillzed to remove the TFA/water and were analyzed. Approximately one-fourth of the digested material was composed of the tetrasaccharide, as a white crystalline salt-free powder, at a yield of approximately 200 mg and a purity of approximately 95%.

EXAMPLE 8

In vitro Assay For The Activity Of The Chondroitinase II Protein In Converting The Tetrasaccharide To The Disaccharide

The assay was conducted as follows. First, the tetrasaccharide substrate was prepared in a suitable solution. Pure tetrasaccharide was dissolved in water to about 2.5 mg/ml, and the pH was adjusted to approximately 8 to 9 with 0.1M NaOH. Stock borate buffer, pH 8.5, was added to give final molarity of 5 mM, pH 8.5. The volume was adjusted to give a 2 mg/ml solution of tetrasaccharide.

Next, to 60 μL of the substrate solution were added 10 μL of an appropriately diluted mix of either or both of the chondroitinase proteins, such as 0.1-5 μg/ml, with a preferred dilution of 2 μg/ml. The assay solution was incubated at 37° C. for 15 minutes, and 20 μl of digested substrate were then chromatographed on GPC using an HPLC, with a Shodex-OH pak KB-802.5 GPC-HPLC column (Shoko Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). The mobile phase was 0.03% TFA in water. There was baseline separation of the tetrasaccharide substrate and the disaccharide product, where the two peaks were estimated by absorbance at 232 nm and comparison to standards purified earlier and identified by TLC.

Under these conditions of GPC, the tetrasaccharide eluted at about 5.2 ml, while the disaccharide eluted at about 6.3 ml, where the bed volume was about 10 ml. The tetrasaccharide was shown to be stable during the several steps of the assay, such as adjustment of the pH to 8.5 with NaOH, and incubation for short durations (up to 30 minutes) at 37° C. The assay time chosen was 15 minutes, which allowed for continuous loading of freshly incubated reactions, since the run time was 12 minutes.

Even at a ratio of substrate to chondroitinase protein of 20,000:1 (w/w), the purified chondroitinase II protein converted the tetrasaccharide to disaccharide at close to linear rates, at least during the initial time points. The recombinant chondroitinase I protein was not able to effect this conversion. However, as expected, a copurified mixture of chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II proteins (85:15 w/w) did catalyze this conversion. The rate of this conversion was much slower than that seen for pure chondroitinase II protein, which is again as expected, in agreement with its lower content of the chondroitinase II protein.

When the concentration of chondroitinase proteins was increased one hundred fold (200:1 ratio), both the pure chondroitinase II protein and the co-purified protein mixture caused complete conversion to the disaccharide. Even if this high concentration were used for recombinant chondroitinase I, no significant activity was detected. However, when the Proteus-derived chondroitinase I which contained a known contamination of the chondroitinase II protein (approximately 1 to 2%) was used alone, it did exhibit a partial conversion at this high ratio. Thus, this in vitro assay provides a useful method for monitoring the conversion of the tetrasaccharide to the disaccharide by chondroitinase II.

EXAMPLE 9

Vitreal Disinsertion In Monkeys

A series of monkey vitrectomy experiments was performed, testing various purified Proteus chondroitinase preparations. Healthy monkeys were divided into five groups. Four groups received a dose of 4 mg total chondroitinase protein in 0.4 ml BSS as follows: Group 1 received chondroitinase I alone; Group 2 received chondroitinase II alone; Group 3 received a 60:40 (w/w) mixture of chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II; and Group 4 received an 88:12 (w/w) mixture of chondroitinase I and chondroitinase II. A fifth group, Group 5, used as a negative control, received 0.4 ml BSS only.

The monkeys were anesthetized and part of the vitreous body was removed by a vitrectomy instrument inserted through a first port in the eye. Light for the surgeon was provided by an endoilluminator inserted through a second port in the eye. The remainder of the vitreous body was removed by injecting the protein solution through a third port referred to as the infusion terminal. After the degradation, if any, was complete (15 minutes), the animals were sacrificed and the eyes were analyzed by such methods as visual examination, histology and pathology, sonography, transmission electron microscopy, and the use of anti-chondroitin sulfate antibodies.

The results are illustrated in Table 3 below:

                  TABLE 3                                                          ______________________________________                                         Group 1          Incomplete disinsertion                                       Group 2          No disinsertion                                               Group 3          Complete disinsertion                                         Group 4          Complete disinsertion                                         Group 5          No disinsertion                                               ______________________________________                                    

All patents, applications, articles, publications, and test methods mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by reference.

Many variations of the present invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art in light of the above detailed description. Such obvious variations are within the full intended scope of the appended claims.

    __________________________________________________________________________     SEQUENCE LISTING                                                               (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:                                                       (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 2                                                   (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 997 amino acids                                                    (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:                                        AlaThrSerAsnProAlaPheAspProLysAsnLeuMetGlnSerGlu                               151015                                                                         IleTyrHisPheAlaGlnAsnAsnProLeuAlaAspPheSerSerAsp                               202530                                                                         LysAsnSerIleLeuThrLeuSerAspLysArgSerIleMetGlyAsn                               354045                                                                         GlnSerLeuLeuTrpLysTrpLysGlyGlySerSerPheThrLeuHis                               505560                                                                         LysLysLeuIleValProThrAspLysGluAlaSerLysAlaTrpGly                               65707580                                                                       ArgSerSerThrProValPheSerPheTrpLeuTyrAsnGluLysPro                               859095                                                                         IleAspGlyTyrLeuThrIleAspPheGlyGluLysLeuIleSerThr                               100105110                                                                      SerGluAlaGlnAlaGlyPheLysValLysLeuAspPheThrGlyTrp                               115120125                                                                      ArgAlaValGlyValSerLeuAsnAsnAspLeuGluAsnArgGluMet                               130135140                                                                      ThrLeuAsnAlaThrAsnThrSerSerAspGlyThrGlnAspSerIle                               145150155160                                                                   GlyArgSerLeuGlyAlaLysValAspSerIleArgPheLysAlaPro                               165170175                                                                      SerAsnValSerGlnGlyGluIleTyrIleAspArgIleMetPheSer                               180185190                                                                      ValAspAspAlaArgTyrGlnTrpSerAspTyrGlnValLysThrArg                               195200205                                                                      LeuSerGluProGluIleGlnPheHisAsnValLysProGlnLeuPro                               210215220                                                                      ValThrProGluAsnLeuAlaAlaIleAspLeuIleArgGlnArgLeu                               225230235240                                                                   IleAsnGluPheValGlyGlyGluLysGluThrAsnLeuAlaLeuGlu                               245250255                                                                      GluAsnIleSerLysLeuLysSerAspPheAspAlaLeuAsnIleHis                               260265270                                                                      ThrLeuAlaAsnGlyGlyThrGlnGlyArgHisLeuIleThrAspLys                               275280285                                                                      GlnIleIleIleTyrGlnProGluAsnLeuAsnSerGlnAspLysGln                               290295300                                                                      LeuPheAspAsnTyrValIleLeuGlyAsnTyrThrThrLeuMetPhe                               305310315320                                                                   AsnIleSerArgAlaTyrValLeuGluLysAspProThrGlnLysAla                               325330335                                                                      GlnLeuLysGlnMetTyrLeuLeuMetThrLysHisLeuLeuAspGln                               340345350                                                                      GlyPheValLysGlySerAlaLeuValThrThrHisHisTrpGlyTyr                               355360365                                                                      SerSerArgTrpTrpTyrIleSerThrLeuLeuMetSerAspAlaLeu                               370375380                                                                      LysGluAlaAsnLeuGlnThrGlnValTyrAspSerLeuLeuTrpTyr                               385390395400                                                                   SerArgGluPheLysSerSerPheAspMetLysValSerAlaAspSer                               405410415                                                                      SerAspLeuAspTyrPheAsnThrLeuSerArgGlnHisLeuAlaLeu                               420425430                                                                      LeuLeuLeuGluProAspAspGlnLysArgIleAsnLeuValAsnThr                               435440445                                                                      PheSerHisTyrIleThrGlyAlaLeuThrGlnValProProGlyGly                               450455460                                                                      LysAspGlyLeuArgProAspGlyThrAlaTrpArgHisGluGlyAsn                               465470475480                                                                   TyrProGlyTyrSerPheProAlaPheLysAsnAlaSerGlnLeuIle                               485490495                                                                      TyrLeuLeuArgAspThrProPheSerValGlyGluSerGlyTrpAsn                               500505510                                                                      AsnLeuLysLysAlaMetValSerAlaTrpIleTyrSerAsnProGlu                               515520525                                                                      ValGlyLeuProLeuAlaGlyArgHisProPheAsnSerProSerLeu                               530535540                                                                      LysSerValAlaGlnGlyTyrTyrTrpLeuAlaMetSerAlaLysSer                               545550555560                                                                   SerProAspLysThrLeuAlaSerIleTyrLeuAlaIleSerAspLys                               565570575                                                                      ThrGlnAsnGluSerThrAlaIlePheGlyGluThrIleThrProAla                               580585590                                                                      SerLeuProGlnGlyPheTyrAlaPheAsnGlyGlyAlaPheGlyIle                               595600605                                                                      HisArgTrpGlnAspLysMetValThrLeuLysAlaTyrAsnThrAsn                               610615620                                                                      ValTrpSerSerGluIleTyrAsnLysAspAsnArgTyrGlyArgTyr                               625630635640                                                                   GlnSerHisGlyValAlaGlnIleValSerAsnGlySerGlnLeuSer                               645650655                                                                      GlnGlyTyrGlnGlnGluGlyTrpAspTrpAsnArgMetGlnGlyAla                               660665670                                                                      ThrThrIleHisLeuProLeuLysAspLeuAspSerProLysProHis                               675680685                                                                      ThrLeuMetGlnArgGlyGluArgGlyPheSerGlyThrSerSerLeu                               690695700                                                                      GluGlyGlnTyrGlyMetMetAlaPheAspLeuIleTyrProAlaAsn                               705710715720                                                                   LeuGluArgPheAspProAsnPheThrAlaLysLysSerValLeuAla                               725730735                                                                      AlaAspAsnHisLeuIlePheIleGlySerAsnIleAsnSerSerAsp                               740745750                                                                      LysAsnLysAsnValGluThrThrLeuPheGlnHisAlaIleThrPro                               755760765                                                                      ThrLeuAsnThrLeuTrpIleAsnGlyGlnLysIleGluAsnMetPro                               770775780                                                                      TyrGlnThrThrLeuGlnGlnGlyAspTrpLeuIleAspSerAsnGly                               785790795800                                                                   AsnGlyTyrLeuIleThrGlnAlaGluLysValAsnValSerArgGln                               805810815                                                                      HisGlnValSerAlaGluAsnLysAsnArgGlnProThrGluGlyAsn                               820825830                                                                      PheSerSerAlaTrpIleAspHisSerThrArgProLysAspAlaSer                               835840845                                                                      TyrGluTyrMetValPheLeuAspAlaThrProGluLysMetGlyGlu                               850855860                                                                      MetAlaGlnLysPheArgGluAsnAsnGlyLeuTyrGlnValLeuArg                               865870875880                                                                   LysAspLysAspValHisIleIleLeuAspLysLeuSerAsnValThr                               885890895                                                                      GlyTyrAlaPheTyrGlnProAlaSerIleGluAspLysTrpIleLys                               900905910                                                                      LysValAsnLysProAlaIleValMetThrHisArgGlnLysAspThr                               915920925                                                                      LeuIleValSerAlaValThrProAspLeuAsnMetThrArgGlnLys                               930935940                                                                      AlaAlaThrProValThrIleAsnValThrIleAsnGlyLysTrpGln                               945950955960                                                                   SerAlaAspLysAsnSerGluValLysTyrGlnValSerGlyAspAsn                               965970975                                                                      ThrGluLeuThrPheThrSerTyrPheGlyIleProGlnGluIleLys                               980985990                                                                      LeuSerProLeuPro                                                                995                                                                            (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:                                               (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 990 amino acids                                                    (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                           (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                                    (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:                                        LeuProThrLeuSerHisGluAlaPheGlyAspIleTyrLeuPheGlu                               151015                                                                         GlyGluLeuProAsnThrLeuThrThrSerAsnAsnAsnGlnLeuSer                               202530                                                                         LeuSerLysGlnHisAlaLysAspGlyGluGlnSerLeuLysTrpGln                               354045                                                                         TyrGlnProGlnAlaThrLeuThrLeuAsnAsnIleValAsnTyrGln                               505560                                                                         AspAspLysAsnThrAlaThrProLeuThrPheMetMetTrpIleTyr                               65707580                                                                       AsnGluLysProGlnSerSerProLeuThrLeuAlaPheLysGlnAsn                               859095                                                                         AsnLysIleAlaLeuSerPheAsnAlaGluLeuAsnPheThrGlyTrp                               100105110                                                                      ArgGlyIleAlaValProPheArgAspMetGlnGlySerAlaThrGly                               115120125                                                                      GlnLeuAspGlnLeuValIleThrAlaProAsnGlnAlaGlyThrLeu                               130135140                                                                      PhePheAspGlnIleIleMetSerValProLeuAspAsnArgTrpAla                               145150155160                                                                   ValProAspTyrGlnThrProTyrValAsnAsnAlaValAsnThrMet                               165170175                                                                      ValSerLysAsnTrpSerAlaLeuLeuMetTyrAspGlnMetPheGln                               180185190                                                                      AlaHisTyrProThrLeuAsnPheAspThrGluPheArgAspAspGln                               195200205                                                                      ThrGluMetAlaSerIleTyrGlnArgPheGluTyrTyrGlnGlyIle                               210215220                                                                      ArgSerAspLysLysIleThrProAspMetLeuAspLysHisLeuAla                               225230235240                                                                   LeuTrpGluLysLeuValLeuThrGlnHisAlaAspGlySerIleThr                               245250255                                                                      GlyLysAlaLeuAspHisProAsnArgGlnHisPheMetLysValGlu                               260265270                                                                      GlyValPheSerGluGlyThrGlnLysAlaLeuLeuAspAlaAsnMet                               275280285                                                                      LeuArgAspValGlyLysThrLeuLeuGlnThrAlaIleTyrLeuArg                               290295300                                                                      SerAspSerLeuSerAlaThrAspArgLysLysLeuGluGluArgTyr                               305310315320                                                                   LeuLeuGlyThrArgTyrValLeuGluGlnGlyPheThrArgGlySer                               325330335                                                                      GlyTyrGlnIleIleThrHisValGlyTyrGlnThrArgGluLeuPhe                               340345350                                                                      AspAlaTrpPheIleGlyArgHisValLeuAlaLysAsnAsnLeuLeu                               355360365                                                                      AlaProThrGlnGlnAlaMetMetTrpTyrAsnAlaThrGlyArgIle                               370375380                                                                      PheGluLysAsnAsnGluIleValAspAlaAsnValAspIleLeuAsn                               385390395400                                                                   ThrGlnLeuGlnTrpMetIleLysSerLeuLeuMetLeuProAspTyr                               405410415                                                                      GlnGlnArgGlnGlnAlaLeuAlaGlnLeuGlnSerTrpLeuAsnLys                               420425430                                                                      ThrIleLeuSerSerLysGlyValAlaGlyGlyPheLysSerAspGly                               435440445                                                                      SerIlePheHisHisSerGlnHisTyrProAlaTyrAlaLysAspAla                               450455460                                                                      PheGlyGlyLeuAlaProSerValTyrAlaLeuSerAspSerProPhe                               465470475480                                                                   ArgLeuSerThrSerAlaHisGluArgLeuLysAspValLeuLeuLys                               485490495                                                                      MetArgIleTyrThrLysGluThrGlnIleProValValLeuSerGly                               500505510                                                                      ArgHisProThrGlyLeuHisLysIleGlyIleAlaProPheLysTrp                               515520525                                                                      MetAlaLeuAlaGlyThrProAspGlyLysGlnLysLeuAspThrThr                               530535540                                                                      LeuSerAlaAlaTyrAlaLysLeuAspAsnLysThrHisPheGluGly                               545550555560                                                                   IleAsnAlaGluSerGluProValGlyAlaTrpAlaMetAsnTyrAla                               565570575                                                                      SerMetAlaIleGlnArgArgAlaSerThrGlnSerProGlnGlnSer                               580585590                                                                      TrpLeuAlaIleAlaArgGlyPheSerArgTyrLeuValGlyAsnGlu                               595600605                                                                      SerTyrGluAsnAsnAsnArgTyrGlyArgTyrLeuGlnTyrGlyGln                               610615620                                                                      LeuGluIleIleProAlaAspLeuThrGlnSerGlyPheSerHisAla                               625630635640                                                                   GlyTrpAspTrpAsnArgTyrProGlyThrThrThrIleHisLeuPro                               645650655                                                                      TyrAsnGluLeuGluAlaLysLeuAsnGlnLeuProAlaAlaGlyIle                               660665670                                                                      GluGluMetLeuLeuSerThrGluSerTyrSerGlyAlaAsnThrLeu                               675680685                                                                      AsnAsnAsnSerMetPheAlaMetLysLeuHisGlyHisSerLysTyr                               690695700                                                                      GlnGlnGlnSerLeuArgAlaAsnLysSerTyrPheLeuPheAspAsn                               705710715720                                                                   ArgValIleAlaLeuGlySerGlyIleGluAsnAspAspLysGlnHis                               725730735                                                                      ThrThrGluThrThrLeuPheGlnPheAlaValProLysLeuGlnSer                               740745750                                                                      ValIleIleAsnGlyLysLysValAsnGlnLeuAspThrGlnLeuThr                               755760765                                                                      LeuAsnAsnAlaAspThrLeuIleAspProAlaGlyAsnLeuTyrLys                               770775780                                                                      LeuThrLysGlyGlnThrValLysPheSerTyrGlnLysGlnHisSer                               785790795800                                                                   LeuAspAspArgAsnSerLysProThrGluGlnLeuPheAlaThrAla                               805810815                                                                      ValIleSerHisGlyLysAlaProSerAsnGluAsnTyrGluTyrAla                               820825830                                                                      IleAlaIleGluAlaGlnAsnAsnLysAlaProGluTyrThrValLeu                               835840845                                                                      GlnHisAsnAspGlnLeuHisAlaValLysAspLysIleThrGlnGlu                               850855860                                                                      GluGlyTyrAlaPhePheGluAlaThrLysLeuLysSerAlaAspAla                               865870875880                                                                   ThrLeuLeuSerSerAspAlaProValMetValMetAlaLysIleGln                               885890895                                                                      AsnGlnGlnLeuThrLeuSerIleValAsnProAspLeuAsnLeuTyr                               900905910                                                                      GlnGlyArgGluLysAspGlnPheAspAspLysGlyAsnGlnIleGlu                               915920925                                                                      ValSerValTyrSerArgHisTrpLeuThrAlaGluSerGlnSerThr                               930935940                                                                      AsnSerThrIleThrValLysGlyIleTrpLysLeuThrThrProGln                               945950955960                                                                   ProGlyValIleIleLysHisHisAsnAsnAsnThrLeuIleThrThr                               965970975                                                                      ThrThrIleGlnAlaThrProThrValIleAsnLeuValLys                                     980985990                                                                      __________________________________________________________________________ 

We claim:
 1. An isolated, purified protein consisting of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein said protein having an amino acid sequence has chondroitinase II activity.
 2. An isolated, purified protein having Protein vulgaris chondroitinase II activity, wherein said protein has an isoelectric point of approximately 8.4-8.45 and an apparent molecular mass of 112 kDa when electrophoresed in a 4 to 20% gradient acrylamide gel in 25 mM tris/192 mM glycine buffer at pH 8.5 in the presence of about 0.1% (w/v) SDS.
 3. An isolated, purified protein Protein vulgaris having chondroitinase II activity, wherein said protein corresponds to the upper band of the doublet of FIG. 2, Lane D.
 4. An isolated, purified protein having Proteus vulgaris chondroitinase II activity, which in combination with chondroitinase I selectively and completely disrupts vitreoretinal adhesion by digesting chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan localized specifically to sites of said adhesion. 